This afternoon’s game bears a fuzzy resemblance to the 05-06 season. The Clippers put together a great defensive effort. They play a diligent brand of straight-up man defense, sending help selectively – but decisively. No stupid gambles and, with a few exceptions [most of them Thornton] they rotate and close quickly. Chris has one of his best games as a defender. All afternoon, he does a solid job forcing Duncan toward help. Given his size-quicks quotient, Chris should be the kind of defender that gives Duncan fits off the dribble -- to the extent any center can give Duncan fits. I mean, it’s Tim Duncan, but it’s fair to say that Chris performs yeoman’s work today on him.

The Clippers are the 8th best Defensive Efficiency team in the league. I find this pleases me more than it probably should.

It’s a crisp game. The Clippers rack up only 11 turnovers and few of them are hellacious. In the offense, they’re patient, but not inert. I don’t care how well the Clippers play, it’s going to be tough for this team to get consistently good shots against quality defensive opponents. That’s just life without Elton Brand. But today, they move the ball around the halfcourt, work hard off the ball to get looks – and it pays off. Granted, it isn’t the most efficient game; they take only 12 FTAs [they need to be north of 25 every night, unless they're just lighting it up from beyond the arc]. But it’s nice to see Corey drive to the hoop not actually looking for contact, but the easiest lane to the hole. He has a smart game – those two off-the-ball fouls in a single possession that put the Spurs in the penalty notwithstanding.

Big Positive Today: Thornton racks up eight rebounds. One of the things I really like about our seats is that we have a smart vantage point to measure team rebounding. Al really bangs for a couple of those boards. Since he’s largely playing the 4, it’s something that has to happen – but it's still nice to see.

I know these are losses – home losses, no less. But there are two ways the rest of the season can go. [1] The Clips can just phone it in, try to improve their draft position. Run out the clock. [2] A generally forward-looking vibe surrounds the team going into the spring, even though they lose considerably more than they win. Despite the losses, the Clips beat a couple of decent teams a month. Little by little, Kaman and Thornton learn how to deliver a fourth quarter. Word of Elton’s progress comes down in February and sometime in the next six weeks, we see tape of him in drills.

It’s one thing to see good lines from the guys with upside. But I’m willing to suggest that there’s future value that exceeds a couple of draft positions in having a team that finishes the season playing well together. An interesting stat to see would be the correlation between lottery teams’ post-All-Star records and their following season records. Forgetting all future implications, it’s nice to be at Staples this afternoon seeing the Clips playing well in a competitive game against an elite team, and not have it feel as if they might luckbox their way into a W. The Clips are in today’s game because they play the best version of their brand of basketball.

Posted Wednesday, October 29 at 3:20PM

Good news!

We have launched a new ClipperBlog.com site! You are currently on our old system & are viewing an archived page. We will continue to keep all 670 posts from our first 3 years on this archive site. Soon we will be closing the comments for each of these older posts.

Comments

Now, in regards to the game it was good to see the team competing. We finally played some defense in the third quarter, since the most of the Clipper players have decided not to show up every 3rd quarter.

I know that Thornton makes some mistakes, but the dude no longer seems to be lost. And what's making this possible is that he finally decided to put the ball on the floor and just drive it in. The more he does this, the more wide open J's he going to get.

Kaman, played out of his mind. Cassell killed us, he never got going. That's what we need, a point guard that can create of the dribble, and dish it out to Kaman or just take it up. We need to get a point gaurd on this draft, keep Livingston and just get rid of Cassell and Brevin. As a fan/season tix holder I would rather see the youth out there competing. Take a good look at Portland, they are one exciting team...

Sam Cassell just hasn't been doing much for the Clippers of late. His defense never has been his strong suit, and on Sunday, he scored a mere two points for the second time in two games.

In both of his two-point performances, Cassell has had ample playing time, averaging 22 minutes. And to explain what's going on with him, he let out a doozy of a statement.

"To play the game of basketball, you have to enjoy it," Cassell said. "Right now, I'm just not enjoying it. You have to enjoy it to have success in this game. It's just that simple."

When asked why he's not enjoying the game, he responded, "We're 10-21, and that doesn't make it fun to enjoy it. But I'm still optimistic of how we can turn things around and see what we can do."

Cassell, 38, is in the final year of a two-year deal, and realistically, the Clippers do not have a chance at making the playoffs. He is in the twilight of his career, so wouldn't he prefer to be traded to a contender for the rest of this season?

"We'll see," he said. "It's not to that point right now. We'll see. I started this thing, and we'll see how it pans out."

Livingston update: Elton Brand recently expressed concern that the March 1 target date for his return was too early. On Sunday, Shaun Livingston did the same thing.

Both Brand (torn Achilles) and Livingston (dislocated knee) have been out the entire season, and March 1 has been mentioned as a possible return date. However, the exact date still is uncertain.

"It's somewhere around there," Livingston said of March 1. "But it's so hard because it's still not pinpointed yet. Once we get these next two months knocked out, we'll get a better feel on a timetable and date."

Cassell is not having fun
Veteran says the team's poor showing is taking its toll.
By Jonathan Abrams, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 7, 2008

It takes a lot to wipe the smile off Sam Cassell's face.

Right now, the veteran point guard is at that point, admitting Sunday that he is not having fun during the Clippers' latest run of losses.

"We are 10-21," Cassell said. "That doesn't make it fun to enjoy. I'm still optimistic about how we can turn things around and see what we can do."

Cassell started and played 23 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs, going one of four from the field. Since returning from a strained calf that sidelined him for 12 games, he has averaged 8.3 points in six games.

"I think I'm cool," he said of where he is at physically.

"I just need to get my little rhythm back. That's all. You play the game of basketball and you have to enjoy it. Right now, I'm just not enjoying it. Before anything else, you have to enjoy it, if you want to have success in this game."

Cassell was the straw that helped stir the Clippers to their playoff run in 2005-06. But he hobbled through injuries much of last season and, so far this season, has not fared much better.

He is 38 and in the final season of a two-year contract. He has stated he would like to play one more season and then become an assistant coach.

Asked whether he would like to play for a team with championship aspirations to finish this season and his career, Cassell said he wasn't at the point of requesting a trade.

"We'll see," he said. "It ain't to that point right now, but we'll see. I started this thing and we'll see how it pans out.

"Everyone on this team is searching, from the coaching staff to the players. Everybody is trying to do what they can do to turn this thing around for the better of the team.

"I just got to get back to enjoying it and having fun with it. Me personally, I can't play basketball with a frown on my face. I've got to be jittery and chattery. That makes me play better."

Forward Tim Thomas scored seven points in 15 minutes, including a three-point basket that gave the Clippers their final lead, 74-73, in his first game played since sitting out four because of a sore knee.

"The second half, it got a little stiff," Thomas said. "But for the most part, it felt pretty good."

Shaun Livingston is scheduled to fly to Birmingham, Ala., today to have his surgically repaired left knee examined by Dr. James Andrews. If progress has been made, Livingston said he would begin to work on regaining his leaping ability.

Things are looking so bad right now that we're once again looking for moral victories in losses. Alot of the longtime fans are just hoping that we hang around in these games during our homestand. As long as we play well, lose by 5 points or so, we're somewhat placated.

With the trade deadline coming up and Maggette set to look for a max deal this summer, it might be time to finally deal him and see if we can get something in return (will Utah part with AK47 as my friend Carolinaboy suggested? Or barring that, can we get a late first round draft pick for Maggette?)

We need to make enough moves and rebuild the team so that EB will be persuaded to stay beyond his current contract. If he goes, the franchise will sink with him. Dunleavy's reign might be coming to an end if we don't play close to .500 ball the rest of the way.

Wow, Frahm got waived. Well, that makes a tremendous amount of sense! Bring the guy in, start him even, and in general play him some significant minutes ahead of Thornton. This is further evidence of how bad Clipper management is when it comes to player/personnel decisions. I wonder how they managed to pick Thornton and not blow that opportunity?

Well that's one good move, bringing back Diaz. Clippers will still lose, but at least I can see some good dunks. I wondering if they did this cus they realized they didn't have any latin players on latino night.

Moral victories are no longer enough. Hanging with superior teams until the last few minutes doesn’t cut it anymore. Short-handed and out of sync, the Clippers (10-21) downward spiral continues with no apparent relief in sight.

In their latest tease, Sunday afternoon at Staples Center, they held the mighty San Antonio Spurs to 40% shooting, and forced them into 3-17 from three-point land. Chris Kaman (20 points, 14 rebounds) battled Tim Duncan (17/17) to a draw. The Clippers led by ten in the second quarter, avoided their usual third-quarter fold, and even seized a one-point lead with five-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game.

Then the Spurs, who had spent most of the game playing like the .500 road team they’ve inexplicably become, woke up, made the plays that counted, and pulled away for an 88-82 victory.

Afterward, a weary-looking Mike Dunleavy groped for positives, praising the defensive intensity, rookie Al Thornton’s steady progress, and the spirited couple of practices that almost spurred the Clippers on to a major upset.

Players like Kaman and Corey Maggette spoke of the need to keep fighting, of their energetic play against the Spurs, of hope in the future for a beat-up team whose starting lineup has become a nightly guessing game.

But Cuttino Mobley, standing in a nearly empty locker room, wasn’t buying it. “I don't think we mix well together right now," Mobley said. "If the first play doesn't work, we don't know what we're doing. It's not good. At the beginning of season, you knew who was going to close games out and what we were supposed to do. Now, it's like scattered. We need an identity.”

Mobley acknowledged that injuries and undefined roles had left the team devoid of the kind of rhythm and chemistry that builds with a team that plays together every day. “Us, there’s different guys starting every day,” said Mobley, who also admitted to not feeling “comfortable” on the court.

Sounding almost envious, he cited the Spurs as a prime example of everything the Clippers are not at the moment.

“The Spurs have chemistry,” Mobley noted. “If they're not going to Parker, they're going to Ginobili, if not Ginobili, then Duncan. And the other guys fit in.”

Good teams have one or two leaders that teammates count on to close games. With Elton Brand sidelined, Sam Cassell consistently hurt, and Kaman still too young, the Clippers, losers of 21 of 27, appear leaderless at the moment, undermanned and outfinessed at every turn. They have gotten sparkling play from Kaman and, at times, from Maggette, the improving Thornton, and even guard Brevin Knight. But when crunch time came Sunday, they forced shots and couldn’t stop the Spurs when it counted.

Continuing his unsparing analysis, Mobley said that, at the beginning of the season, he hoped to become that leader the Clippers could look to, event though he admitted that “I’m not really a chief.” Other factors, however, proved too difficult to overcome. “Getting hurt, and playing sub par… you lose that mojo. Your team drifts away from you,” Mobley conceded.

Nothing makes sense these days, from bringing in Ruben Patterson when EB went down, to now back to taking a look at Diaz. Just one bewilderming move after another. It's like that stray dog you see in the street that constantly chases it's tail.

This team has no direction whatsoever.

The best thing that could happen to the Clips is EB and Shaun (sorry guys) have setbacks and can't make it back this year after all.

There's nothing good that can come of it as this season has been in the toilet, will continue to be in the crapper, and them coming back only improves their personal status for the rest of the NBA teams with cap space.

Continue the unintentional tanking I say, grab a top 5 pick and start fresh next year with a healthy EB and Shaun to pair with Kaman and whatever pick the Clips get. At least, that's something to work with, and build on.

Sam and Cat should be traded to teams that they can help this season. Expiring contracts and draft picks should be the only tender addressed. Maggette, trading him will be tough in his walk year but you gotta try that as well.

The Clips have already dropped 21 of 27, ouch. Injuries withstanding, don't think DTS thought this would be the results this season, especially after going 4-0 to start the season.

Maybe if the Clips lose the rest of their games DTS will also have to take a serious look at coaching as well as management. To me, they're just dumb and even dumber.

Reading these articles makes me sick, and dude is right!! Cassell and let's add Mobley to the mix too should just shut up and just try to better their game. Cassell was terrible against the Spurs he did not deserve the minutes he got to begin with.

The fans should be the ones complaining how heartless some of this players are playing.

In regards to Diaz, dude is more exciting than both backup pointg guards we have.

I say we trade both Mobley and Cassell for draft picks this upcoming year, there's going to be a lot of good YOUNG talent.

ACD is right - no one wants Mobley's contract. Which is why some of us questioned giving Mobley $9 million for five years. And giving Tim Thomas the money we gave him. And failing to bring SG shooters in here. And MDSr's coaching.

Cant we lure Gilbert Arenas away from Washington for $12 million a year? YES-- i think that's overpaying... but so did the magin on rashard lewis, the suns on steve nash, and atlanta on joe johnson.... but forget about the money... those players have helped thier teams tremendously.

Arenas will bring excitement back to the Staples Center...

i think combined with the development of Al Thornton, a high draft pick, and brand and livingston back (next year, please!)...i think that's a nice group

The only good thing about T2's contract is it comes off the books at the end of next year. If nothing else, he's major trade bait next season with that huge expiring deal. Let's not forget the Clips could have signed Wilcox to the same deal. He signed for 3 years, $24M with Seattle the off-season after the Clips traded him for Radman. Signing Wilcox, that would have made way too much sense though. He never made it out of MD's doghouse, and look at him now. Damn.

With Mobley, maybe Mark Cuban will take Mobley's contract. He could help alot of teams in the East as well, and let's not forget about Isiah..he's gotta have another terrible trade in him before he gets canned, right?

With a very detailed statement, presenting the chronicle of his meetings with the Olympiacos administration, Sofoklis explains the facts around the recent turmoil of his relationship with the club, pin-pointing that:

- I never refused to go to Switzerland in order to be admitted to a weight clinic and I am ready to leave whenever my team asks me to.

- I never asked to freed from my contract as soon as I return from Switzerland. Since the Olympiacos fans have embraced me all these years and they have memory, I would simply like to remind that in the summer of 2006 and at the peak of my career and athletic value I signed in record time the 4year expansion of my contract with Olympiacos, while at this very moment I had the right to leave according to my existing contract, with a very small buy-out fee, of 250,000 dollars and I could have signed with the L.A. Clippers, who were putting strenuous pressure on me in order to sign, with a much larger compensation for me

- I never refused to pay for my stay in the Switzerland clinic, since while there, I would be paying for the clinic and Olympiacos would be paying the money for me instead of paying me the contract installments, something I accepted from our first meeting of November 29.

- I would never be able nevertheless, at least not without making some assurances, that my contract and my relationship with Olympiacos from now on, and especially after my successful stay in the said clinic, will be judged with the sole criterio of my weight and that is a weight much less than what was normal for me in the very successful 2005 - 06 season.